Abdominal belt



Oct. 26, 1965 w. GAKLE 3,213,856

ABDOMINAL BELT I Filed May 9, 1965 INVENTOR 9 Lie/14. (gait Ma BY m; d mmff w H TTORNE Y8 United States Patent 3,213,856 ABDOMINAL BELT Wendolyn F. Gakle, 55 E. Sharlear Drive, Essexville, Mich. Filed May 9, 1963, Ser. No. 279,240 5 3 Claims. (Cl. 128-562) This invention relates to abdominal belts, and partic ularly to belts substantially of girdle type, adapted to restrict protruding of the abdomen, relieve standing fatigue and back strain, and for correcting abdominal sacroiliac conditions.

The prime object of the invention is to provide an abdominal belt of the type referred to which is so constructed as to provide complete freedom of body movement and comfort to the wearer.

Another object is to provide an abdominal belt which includes a foundation body member formed of a resilient material shaped to comform closely to the contour of the wearers body and provide a plurality of individual, adjustable straps or bands associated therewith and encircling the body member for controlling and molding the wearers body to desired form.

A further object is to provide an abdominal belt including a foundation or body member formed of resilient material having an elongated, vertical anchoring strip in the back thereof, with opposed band sections anchored thereto; and guides on the front of the belt through which the bands are threaded, with means on the bands to permit selective tightening or loosening of the individual bands to suit the wearers desire and comfort.

Still a further object is to provide an abdominal belt formed of resilient cloth shaped to snugly fit the body of the wearer, with a vertically disposed anchor strip in the back extending from the top to the bottom of the belt, and to which a plurality of bands are anchored at a point intermediate their length, to form two band sections of unequal length, with an elongated, vertical strip secured to the front of the belt, at spaced apart points, to provide vertically spaced guides to accommodate said bands, and means for securing the free end sections of the bands together in adjusted relation to limit the stretching of the cloth at the point of encirclement of the band.

A further object still is to provide a simple, practical, and inexpensive abdominal belt equipped with a plurality of bands encircling the body of the wearer in substantially edge adjacent relation, which bands are readily adjustable and so connected that when in proper positions of adjustment, they will maintain the engaged portion of the wearers body and support it against back strain, protruding abdomen, and any discomfort caused by bending, stooping or sitting.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims; it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the inven tion.

In the drawings: 1

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of my abdominal belt with the encircling bands in disconnected positions.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view thereof, illustrating the means of connecting the ends of the bands.

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view, showing the belt in position on a wearer.

FIGURE 4 is top plan view showing the manner of 70 anchoring and connecting the free ends of the bands to permit adjustment and provide the desired pressures, etc.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention.

The numeral 8 indicates the foundation or body member which is generally circular in shape, and it is formed of a resilient material properly shaped and of a size to snugly and yieldingly fit the figure of the wearer so that the wearers body will be controlled and molded to the desired form, the lower front end 9 of the foundation belt member being longer than the rear to yieldingly en gage, retain, shape and restrict protruding of the abdomen and also provide a support for pads used with hernias or other surgically treated areas.

A relatively heavy, vertical anchor strip 10 is secured to the back section of the belt as shown, and a plurality of straps or bands B are secured to said anchor strip at a point intermediate their length to provide one long end section 11, having a hook 12 on the free end as shown; and one short end section 13, with a loop 14 provided on the free end thereof, and for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

A vertically disposed strip 15 is secured to the front portion of the body member 8 at vertically spaced points 16 to form guide passages 17 between the members 8 and 15, and through which the long ends 11 of the bands are threaded. When the belt is worn, the hook ends 12 are threaded through the guide passages 17 and thence through loops 14 provided on the end of the short band section 13; thence being returned for releasable engagement with loop sections 18 which forms a part of the buckle 19, which buckle is adjustable on the long strip 11. Each of the bands B are secured in exactly the same manner.

It should be pointed out that the bands B are identical in all respects excepting, that one band is so anchored that its long end section is on one side of the wearers body, whereas the next consecutive band has its long end section on the opposite side of the wearers body, thus balancing and maintaining equal pressure on the body member, and eliminating raised sections which might be noticeable through lightweight wearing apparel. These bands form a secondary means for controlling stretch of the resilient body section, and the fact that the straps due, to the shape of body, are spaced further apart in the front than in the rear provides for greater flexibility and permits easy and controlled bending or other body motions.

The anchor strip 10 is also of prime importance because there is equal pull on the long and short sections of each band, and the anchor strip is disposed over and snugly fits the lower end section of the spinal column of the body. The fact that the front portion of the belt is longer than the rear portion permits the longer end portion to be drawn inwardly to confine and form a partial saddle support for the abdomen, as well as controlling and molding the protruding section thereof.

While in the present design I have shown the strap guide disposed at the center line of wearers figure, it will be understood that there can be a pair of said vertical band guides spaced apart to hold the bands in position.

The belt need be made up in only a couple of sizes because the individual bands are readily adjustable for the desired purposes. There is but a minimum of labor necessary to sew the body member and attach the front guide and anchor strip to which the band members are anchored.

In practice, the wearer merely steps into the belt, pulls it upwardly over the abdomen into proper position, the belt snugly hugging the body of the wearer. The next step is to thread the long end sections 11 through the proper guides 17, insert the ends through the loops 12, swing the free ends of the band back over the strip 15 .12 from the loops 14, loosen the bands, and when all bands are unhooked, the body section can be readily stripped from the wearer.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that I have perfected a very simple, practical and economical, abdominal belt which serves to restrict protruding of the abdomen and which can be worn with complete freedom of body movement and comfort to the wearer.

What I claim is:

1. An abdominal belt adapted to encircle the abdominal portion of an individual, said belt comprising: a continuous foundation member formed of resilient material having an anchor strip in the back thereof and extending from top to bottom of said belt; a plurality of bands all of the same length anchored to said anchor strip at a point intermediate their length to provide one end section of greater length than the other end section, and means for adjustably connecting the free end sections of said bands.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which the bands are non-elastic, and there are guide passages on the front of the belt for positioning the bands in body encircling position on the individual.

3. An abdominal belt of substantially girdle type adapted to encircle the abdominal portion of the wearer comprising; a continuous resilient foundation member shaped to yieldingly fit the wearer; an elongated anchor member in the rear of said foundation member; a plurality of individually adjustable bands all of the same length, anchored to said anchor member at a point intermediate their length to provide one end section of greater length than the other end section, said bands serving, when adjusted, to limit the elastic stretching of the foundation member caused by body movements of the wearer, and means for adjustably connecting the free ends of said bands.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,772,909 8/30 Pfaltzgraif 128579 X 1,908,906 5/33 Loeb 12878 X 2,014,152 9/35 Taney 128531 2,104,699 1/38 ODell 128-78 FOREIGN PATENTS 330,853 10/35 Italy.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ABDOMINAL BELT ADAPTED TO ENCIRCLE THE ADBOMINAL PORTION OF AN INDIVIDUAL, SAID BELT COMPRISING; A CONTINUOUS FOUNDATION MEMBER FORMED OF RESILIENT MATERIAL HAVING AN ANCHOR STRIP INTHE BACK THEREOF AND EXTENDING FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OF SAID BELT; A PLURALITY OF BANDS ALL OF THE SAME LENGTH ANCHORED TO SAID ANCHOR STRIP AT A POINT INTERMEDIATE THEIR LENGTH TO PROVIDE ONE END SECTION OF GREATER LENGTH THAN THE OTHER END SECTION, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY CONNECTING THE FREE END SECTIONS OF SID BANDS. 